Tours in Review | International Travel News

May 2004 issue

Kenya and South Africa with South African Airways Holidays

My son and I left on Dec. 4, ’03, for an 11-day South Africa and Kenya trip offered by South African Airways Holidays (814 Ponce De Leon Blvd., Ste. 203, Coral Gables, FL 33134; phone 888/777-1138 or visit www. saaholidays.net).

After a 14-hour direct flight from Atlanta to Cape Town, we enjoyed two days and nights of touring in Cape Town, then flew via Johannesburg to Nairobi, where we began an 8-day, 1,200-kilometer Kenya safari.

Our accommodations in the Samburu National Game Reserve, Aberdare National Park, Lake Nakuru National Park and the Masai Mara Game Reserve were...

February 2004 issue

East Europe

My husband and I were very pleased with the travel arrangements made for us by MIR Corporation (85 South Washington St., Ste. 210, Seattle, WA 98104; phone 800/424-7289 or visit www.mircorp.com). We used their group tour to Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and Romania followed by their Bulgaria post-tour as models for our “independent traveler” trip. (The itineraries can be found on the website, so we won’t go into any detail).

We had concerns about the logistics of the transitions between guides and countries, but the technical aspects of the trip went flawlessly. In Belarus, Ukraine and...

May 2004 issue

South India

I arranged a 12-day tour to India, Feb. 4-16, ’04, through Vacations International (725 E. Chubbuck Rd., Chubbuck, ID 83202; phone 888/453-0832 or 208/406-1360, e-mail info@vacations-international.com or visit www. vacations-international.com).

The local agency they used was Moksha Tours & Travels (Madurai, India; visit www.mokshatours.com).

This was an independent tour. I was met at each airport by a representative from Vacations International as well as a guide and driver from Moksha Tours. I stayed in 3-star hotels which were clean and ate delicious meals in the hotel...

February 2004 issue

Ukraine with Kolos Corporation

We learned about the archaeology of the Trypillian Bronze Age during our 11-day trip to Ukraine, June 27-July 7, ’02, but we also saw many interesting medieval and later sites and met many interesting people in this newly independent state.

Our tour with Kolos Corporation (5841 Colfax Ave., Alexandria, VA 22311-1013; phone 703/593-8522, e-mal kolos@kolos.com or visit www.kolos.com) cost $1,100, land. (The 2004 “Tryptillian Tour,” taking place June 28-July 8, will cost $1,650 land only.) A few non-included meals and extras added up to less than $100.

We also gave substantial...

February 2004 issue

Ireland with Patty’s Places

Ireland We want to rave about our trip to Ireland, June 16-July 5, ’03, with Patty’s Places (1251 NW 195th St., Seattle, WA 98177; phone 206/546-6717 or visit www.pattysplaces.com). The cost was $2,850 per person plus air, which the tour company can arrange for you.

The small group size (20 plus escort) was perfect, as we got to know our interesting fellow travelers.

We circled the whole island. Some of the places visited were Glendalough, Powerscourt Gardens, Wexford Heritage Park, Bunratty, Islamore Stud Farm and the Giant’s Causeway. We had well-planned days and went in a...

February 2004 issue

Portugal and Spain with Patty’s Places

Our 21-day trip to Spain and Portugal, March 5-25, ’02, with Patty’s Places (Seattle, WA) was lovely. We knew it would be, as this was our third tour with Patty; each was wonderful. Patty has a knack for attracting pleasant, congenial and thoughtful people for her tours; in no time at all we all were friends and began looking out for each other.

Our national guide, Laura, was very pleasant and friendly, had lots of enthusiasm and was well versed on the histories of both countries.

The tour covered the highlights and “must sees” of each country and then some. The cost was $2,...

April 2004 issue

Romania and Bulgaria with Balkan Travel & Tours

Having been to all but a handful of European countries, my wife and I were thinking, “Where next?” As luck would have it, she had just read Randy Keck’s article on Romania (June ’03, pg. 108). She immediately got on the Internet and contacted all the companies mentioned in the story. Each responded, and we chose Balkan Travel & Tours (325 West 38th St., New York, NY 10018; phone 888/763-4288, e-mail balkantravel@worldnet.att.net or visit www.balkan-travel.com).

Balkan’s brochure didn’t list any tours beyond early October, but the polite woman on the phone told us that anytime...

April 2004 issue

Burma with Escapes Unlimited

If you want to experience a country that is still off the beaten path, I suggest Burma. My wife, Jane, and I were there for two weeks, Dec. 21, ’02-Jan. 5, ’03, with Escapes Unlimited (2012 Lerner Lane, Santa Ana, CA 92705; phone 800/243-7227, e-mail info@escapesltd.com or visit www.escapesltd.com). The cost from Savannah, Georgia, was $3,240 including excellent hotels, almost all meals, visa fees and bottled water.

The thing I like about Escapes Unlimited is that their tours have a humanitarian element. Roe, who arranged our guided tour, had sort of “adopted” a school in Burma to...